|Sketched image of a Thai (Siamese) rice-paddy farming in Bangkok. The word "paddy" is derived from the Malay word for padi, rice. A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops.
Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice-growing countries of east and southeast Asia including Malaysia, China, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, India and the Philippines. The fields occur naturally along rivers or marshes, and can be constructed with much labor and materials, even on hillsides. To ensure growth, rice paddy fields require a complex system of flooding; large quantities of water for irrigation. Different types of rice require different methods which are hostile to many species of weeds.